Data engineer to data analyst
A data engineer already meets 21% of what the data analyst role asks for. The move turns on 28 required skills not yet in the profile.
84.7/ 100
1 How much of what a data analyst is expected to do is already part of a data engineer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the data analyst role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A data analyst role treats 8 of its required skills as things a data engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- data models
- digital data processing
- establish data processes
- manage data
- statistics
- unstructured data
What stands in the way is 28 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 13 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A data analyst role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a data engineer background worth leading with.
- already held store digital data and systems working with computers
- already held establish data processes working with computers
- already held create data models information skills
- already held use data processing techniques working with computers
- already held manage quantitative data working with computers
- already held data models information and communication technologies (icts)
All 13 carried skills, including the 8 the data analyst role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 54 missing skills fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn data mining required
- still to learn information confidentiality required
- still to learn information extraction required
- still to learn information structure required
- still to learn query languages required
- still to learn resource description framework query language required
- still to learn data engineering required
- still to learn data science required
- still to learn data visualisation software required
- optional, not held Hadoop optional
- optional, not held LDAP optional
- optional, not held LINQ optional
- optional, not held MDX optional
- optional, not held N1QL optional
- optional, not held SPARQL optional
- optional, not held XQuery optional
- optional, not held information architecture optional
- optional, not held online analytical processing optional
- optional, not held database optional
- optional, not held image recognition optional
- optional, not held web analytics optional
- still to learn analyse big data required
- still to learn apply statistical analysis techniques required
- still to learn collect ICT data required
- still to learn execute analytical mathematical calculations required
- still to learn handle data samples required
- still to learn interpret current data required
- optional, not held gather data for forensic purposes optional
- optional, not held manage cloud data and storage optional
- optional, not held manage data collection systems optional
- optional, not held make data-driven decisions optional
- optional, not held report analysis results optional
- still to learn integrate ICT data required
- still to learn normalise data required
- still to learn perform data mining required
- still to learn implement data quality processes required
- still to learn perform data cleansing required
- optional, not held use spreadsheets software optional
- still to learn data quality assessment required
- still to learn business intelligence required
- optional, not held marketing analytics optional
- still to learn documentation types required
- still to learn information categorisation required
- optional, not held social network analysis optional
- still to learn visual presentation techniques required
- still to learn data ethics required
5 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a data analyst role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 13 skills that carry over
- already held data models knowledge
- already held digital data processing skill
- already held establish data processes skill
- already held manage data skill
- already held statistics knowledge
- already held unstructured data knowledge
- already held use data processing techniques skill
- already held use databases skill
- already held cloud technologies knowledge
- already held create data models skill
- already held data storage knowledge
- already held manage quantitative data skill
- already held store digital data and systems skill
The 5 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn business analytics required
- optional, not held statistical modeling techniques optional
- optional, not held game theory optional
- still to learn define data quality criteria required
- optional, not held multidisciplinary research optional
- optional, not held research design optional
- optional, not held deliver visual presentation of data optional
- optional, not held healthcare analytics optional
26 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held Hadoop optional
- optional, not held LDAP optional
- optional, not held LINQ optional
- optional, not held MDX optional
- optional, not held N1QL optional
- optional, not held SPARQL optional
- optional, not held XQuery optional
- optional, not held gather data for forensic purposes optional
- optional, not held healthcare analytics optional
- optional, not held information architecture optional
- optional, not held manage cloud data and storage optional
- optional, not held manage data collection systems optional
- optional, not held online analytical processing optional
- optional, not held statistical modeling techniques optional
- optional, not held database optional
- optional, not held deliver visual presentation of data optional
- optional, not held game theory optional
- optional, not held image recognition optional
- optional, not held make data-driven decisions optional
- optional, not held marketing analytics optional
- optional, not held multidisciplinary research optional
- optional, not held report analysis results optional
- optional, not held research design optional
- optional, not held social network analysis optional
- optional, not held use spreadsheets software optional
- optional, not held web analytics optional
15 held skills the data analyst role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role SAS Data Management knowledge
- not needed by the target role Teradata Database knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse pipeline database information skill
- not needed by the target role computer science knowledge
- not needed by the target role create data sets skill
- not needed by the target role data analytics knowledge
- not needed by the target role data warehouse knowledge
- not needed by the target role database management systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role design database in the cloud skill
- not needed by the target role develop data processing applications skill
- not needed by the target role implement data warehousing techniques skill
- not needed by the target role manage ICT data architecture skill
- not needed by the target role manage research data skill
- not needed by the target role perform dimensionality reduction skill
- not needed by the target role process data skill
35 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn business analytics required
- still to learn data mining required
- still to learn data quality assessment required
- still to learn documentation types required
- still to learn information categorisation required
- still to learn information confidentiality required
- still to learn information extraction required
- still to learn information structure required
- still to learn query languages required
- still to learn resource description framework query language required
- still to learn visual presentation techniques required
- still to learn business intelligence required
- still to learn data engineering required
- still to learn data ethics required
- still to learn data science required
- still to learn data visualisation software required
- optional, not held Hadoop optional
- optional, not held LDAP optional
- optional, not held LINQ optional
- optional, not held MDX optional
- optional, not held N1QL optional
- optional, not held SPARQL optional
- optional, not held XQuery optional
- optional, not held healthcare analytics optional
- optional, not held information architecture optional
- optional, not held online analytical processing optional
- optional, not held statistical modeling techniques optional
- optional, not held database optional
- optional, not held game theory optional
- optional, not held image recognition optional
- optional, not held marketing analytics optional
- optional, not held multidisciplinary research optional
- optional, not held research design optional
- optional, not held social network analysis optional
- optional, not held web analytics optional
Common questions about this move
Can a data engineer become a data analyst?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A data engineer already covers 21% of what a data analyst is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 8 of which the data analyst role treats as required.
What skills does a data engineer need to become a data analyst?
28 required skills are missing, plus 26 optional ones. They fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information and communication technologies (icts). The single most important is business analytics.
How hard is the move from data engineer to data analyst?
Its learning distance is 84.7 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.